Public services in Birmingham could be boosted by money from the sale of unwanted city council buildings.
The council is looking to generate substantial cash savings by rationalising its £5 billion property portfolio.
The largest landowner in Birmingham, the council either owns or leases more than 3,000 properties including office blocks, shops and industrial estates. The repair and maintenance backlog stands at £420 million.
Property disposal is being driven by two factors - the decentralisation of service delivery from the city centre to the districts and the need to generate £374 million savings to meet Government targets.
More than 1,300 employees based in city centre offices will move to the districts, where rent levels are cheaper, when leases expire in 2009.
The offices include Alpha Tower, 1 Victoria Square and Canterbury House in Newhall Street, giving the council a £2 million a year rental saving.
A scrutiny committee criticised council officials for failing to develop a co-ordinated approach to property disposal.
There were too many individual offices for each department, leading to confusion for the public.
The lack of a structured approach was leading to inefficiency, the committee warned.
A management board is to be set up, chaired by a senior councillor, to champion property matters and report directly to the cabinet.
Committee chairman Randal Brew said: "The council has two main assets, the most important being the staff who serve the council and, through it, the citizens of Birmingham.
"The second most important asset is its property portfolio. Over many years policies and strategies have been developed to support our employees but sometimes that level of commitment has not been applied to our property portfolio.
"This review is the starting point, for what we recommend will be a planned strategy forward to look at what we own and occupy, what we rent and occupy, and how we fund the maintenance."
